| The Audie awards is an annual gala produced by the Audio Publishers Association. They showcase the very best in audiobook production and in a similar vein as the Oscars. This year, Billy Crystal took home the biggest honor with Audiobook of the Year. Crystal narrated his 2013 memoir, "Still Foolin' 'Em." He also won awards in the humor category and best narration by an author. He was able to draw his established fanbase to an often neglected medium in the publishing industry. "Crystal pulled out all the stops to draw in fans and to create new ones with a clever mélange of audiobook-specific print, radio, TV, social media and store appearances." Over 30 different wards were given out during the event and some of the most notable ones include; The Donna Tartt Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Goldfinch, won the Literary Fiction prize, and the audiobook's narrator, David Pittu, also won the prize for Best Solo-Narration-Male. The award for "multi voiced performance" went to World War Z: The Complete Edition, which includes performances by the author, Max Brooks, but also Martin Scorsese, Alfred Molina,Common, Nathan Fillion and Simon Pegg. This book sold a copious amount of copies when the movie first hit theatres. Malcolm Gladwell, who recorded the audio version of his David and Goliath, won the award for nonfiction and Stephen King won the Fiction prize for Doctor Sleep a sequel to The Shining. The audiobook industry is currently worth around 2 billion dollars and the vast majority of titles are produced and sold by Amazon. Audible, their main audiobook unit currently is the exclusive distributer to iTunes. Billy Crystal Wins Big at the Audie Awards is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Friday, June 13, 2014
Billy Crystal Wins Big at the Audie Awards
YouTube Addresses Demand for 1080p Streaming on Android
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Changing resolutions within the app is simple: while watching a video, tap on the three-dot overflow menu that appears in the top right, select the gear icon and then choose your resolution. Remember that in order to stream in HD, the content you are watching has to be available in that resolution. You can download Youtube for Android from the Good e-Reader App Store. YouTube Addresses Demand for 1080p Streaming on Android is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Marvel Dangles J.A.R.V.I.S. In Front Of Mobile Users
| Iron Man has a way with women, plenty of money, all of the coolest toys…but any fan of Marvel or the Avengers will tell you that the coolest thing he possesses is J.A.R.V.I.S. (Just a Rather Very Intelligent System). If you have ever longed for the kind of home computer that could give you advice while caring for every automated system in your home, it may be a reality that is on the horizon. Marvel has applied to register Jarvis as a name for a product that could be: computer software or a mobile app that behaves as a voice-activated digital assistant. If you happen to use an iOS device, you may already have a taste of J.A.R.V.I.S. in your hands with the Marvel Iron Man 3 app –interacting with him using voice commands that will create customized alarm clocks, download ringtones, check the weather or post to Facebook. Unfortunately, inside this app, J.A.R.V.I.S. behaves less like Siri on serious steroids and more like a marketing gimmick. So what does Marvel have in store? Aside from having the coolest foundation concept for a digital assistant, they may be watching the rapidly growing trend toward total home automation. In iOS 8, Apple has added functionality that lets you summon Siri with the phrase: “Hey, Siri!” –cool to be sure, but it wouldn’t compare to being greeted by J.A.R.V.I.S. saying: “Welcome home, maam… your body temperature suggests I should increase the ambient room temperature by 2 degrees and brew a pot of dark roast.” (hey, a girl can dream, can’t she?) While it may seem a little far-fetched, Marvel may not think so –when you consider smartphones full of heart-rate monitors and schedules and emails and access to the Internet (not to mention the ability for communication between other external devices throughout your home), the concept of a ‘portal app turned digital assistant’ makes good sense… and who wouldn’t want to feel like one of the Avengers? One very important question remains: in a battle royal involving Siri, Hal 9000, and J.A.R.V.I.S., where do you place your bets? Marvel Dangles J.A.R.V.I.S. In Front Of Mobile Users is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Is there a Future in a Standalone Audible App?
| Audible is currently the worlds largest audiobook service and has been going strong since 1997. It was purchased by Amazon in 2008 for $300 million dollars and has an extensive catalog of 150,000 titles from leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers and business information providers. Recently Amazon announced that you can purchase audio titles directly within their Kindle for Android app and has a new audio player in Kindle for iOS. Is there a future in the standalone Audible app now that Amazon seems to be gung-ho about integrating it into Kindle? When it comes to audiobook sales, 60% of them stem from the digital editions. One of the more savvy moves for audio distribution was in 2003 when Audible signed an agreement with iTunes to exclusively stock their audiobook section of their store. This crossed over from the dedicated iTunes app for PC and MAC to the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Most of the content from Audible comes from major publishers, Amazon Creation Exchange and Brilliance audio, the biggest producer of CD-based audiobooks. Audiobooks are now well over a billion-dollar business, and the available figures suggest that Amazon retains a far larger piece of that revenue than any other retailer. Audiobook prices are often drastically inflated and is a barrier for more mainstream adoption. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green costs $4.99 for the Kindle edition, but the audiobook costs $17.99. Max Brooks seminal World War Z – The Oral History of the Zombie Wars costs $9.99 for the Kindle edition, but the audiobook will set you back $28.00. Amazon has recognized that audiobooks are very overpriced and they are doing something about it in their new Kindle for Android updated app. The Seattle based company has incorporated WhisperSync for Voice and Immersion reading. This technology works if you have both the audio and eBook by saving the last page read and picking up where you left off. For example, if you read to page 27 in bed and then commute to work and fire up the audiobook it will sync to where you left off in the eBook, its very seamless. Immersion Reading basically plays the audiobook in sync with the Kindle book and highlights the words as they are being said aloud. Whispersync and Immersion reading first showed up in the Kindle Fire HD line of tablets and now has crossed over to their apps. If you already own the Kindle book you can now purchase the eBook edition for a dramatically lowered price. HG Wells the The World Set Free is a free Kindle book, but the audio edition costs $17.73. If you download the free Kindle book and upgrade to the audiobook within the app it only costs $1.99, which is a tremendous savings. The future of Audible is no longer within the dedicated Audible app for iOS or Android. Amazon seems to be incorporating the best aspects of the audiobook experience into their devices and apps, and leaving the Audible app to wallow away into obscurity. It really just comes down to economics, it is far cheaper to upgrade to the audiobook then to buy it separately. In the end, its just more intuitive to download the Kindle app and do everything within it, then to download two apps for the same purpose. Is there a Future in a Standalone Audible App? is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Final Fantasy Agito Headed For Android and iOS
| Following a release in Japan, development house Square Enix has promised North American Android and iOS users that they will be playing Final Fantasy Agito soon. Fans of the Final Fantasy Franchise will recognize Agito as a spin-off based in Orience (whose key characters and universe will be familiar to those gamers who have played Final Fantasy Type-O on the PSP). Game-play promises to be familiar, with missions leading to combat with enemies while brandishing weapons crafted by the users themselves. No specific release date has been identified for Final Fantasy Agito, but the download will be free when it becomes available –though the now-commonplace in-app purchase options will be present. Final Fantasy Agito Headed For Android and iOS is a post from: Good e-Reader |
UK Self-Published Titles Increased by 79%
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First, the fastest growing genres seem to be mystery/thriller and fantasy, an interesting point considering the stronghold that romance and erotica have held over the self-publishing market since the beginning of the current digital revolution. While those genres certainly haven’t dropped, greater acceptance of self-publishing as a whole has led to new genres stepping and moving up the sales charts in bigger numbers. One of the findings associated with the report is that self-published books, which still only accounted for 5% of all book sales in the UK last year, are bought for one of two reasons: either the author has established a dedicated following and a fan base, or they were bought on a whim due to book discovery or promotion. That information is important in two ways. The first is in terms of price. While self-published book prices have been slowly rising on average, devoted fans of an author are more likely to pay $4.99US or more for a new title, whereas authors who don’t have an established readership or who haven’t produced a multi-title series may not attract readers at that price point. The other key piece of data is showing that readers enjoy sagas with long-running story lines and character arcs that build over time. Repeat readers who purchase a self-published book because they’ve enjoyed the author’s other titles have reported that they enjoy the continuous reading experience. In an interesting aside, even traditional publishers are looking for the multi-book author, as it’s becoming more lucrative to build an author’s brand with readers than to sell a stand alone title. While the news of the 79% increase in self-published sales is exciting for the way it demonstrates how much of the associated stigma is dissolving, there is still a long way to go before the bookselling industry reaches that long-awaited prediction of ebooks wiping out the print market altogether. Self-published or legacy published, ebooks are still holding ground at around one-fourth of total book sales.
UK Self-Published Titles Increased by 79% is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Kobo Store Access Now Available From Sony Reader Devices, But Can’t Download Purchased eBooks
| Oftentimes I can’t help but wonder what is wrong with Kobo. It’s like the lights are on but nobody is home. Today is one of those times. When Sony announced that they would be closing their ebook store in North America, they decided that it would be best to send all their customer accounts to […] |
Samsung Galaxy Tab S Tablets Unveiled, Come with Outdoor Readable High-res AMOLED Displays
| Samsung is on a tablet-releasing binge this year. They just released their Pro series of tablets a few months ago, then the budget line of Galaxy Tab 4 tablets came along, and now Samsung is getting set to release a third set of high-end tablets next month. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S series looks to […] |
Lance at TEDx Oxbridge
| Lance Howarth is CEO of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, leading our charitable mission. People are sometimes surprised to learn that Raspberry Pi is a charity: every penny we make from selling the Pi goes into our charitable mission, where it’s used to support schools, train teachers, create resources and help fund other computing and learning initiatives. Back in May he gave a talk at TEDx Oxbridge, explaining what it is we’re up to here at Pi Towers, with help from Babbage the Bear and some rubber bands. It’s just gone live, and we though you’d like to check it out. |
Great Audiobook Narrators
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In honor of Audiobook Month, I talked to some of my colleagues about their favorite MP3 audiobook narrators…
Rebecca Lowman Neil Gaiman and Campbell Scott Emma Galvin Maxwell Caulfield Comedians Kate Winslet James Marsters and Wil Wheaton
Do you have any favorite audiobook narrators you'd like to recommend? *Some titles may have limited regional or platform availability.
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Adobe DPS Powers New Samsung Tablet’s Magazine Feature, Papergarden
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With the release of DPS v31, which is the only platform that supports Samsung’s new digital magazine reading experience Papergarden, new features in content previewing, purchasing from directly within a preview, and more are going to streamline the magazine content sales realm. This release will power both this tablet launch and another from Samsung. "Samsung is excited to have partnered with Adobe to use Digital Publishing Suite to build the new Papergarden application. Samsung's new magazine service, Papergarden, enables users to view a wide range of top-tier magazine titles exactly as the photographers intended, reproducing colors just as vividly and accurately as the print versions," said Daniel Park, senior vice president of Samsung Electronics' Media Solution Center. "Papergarden is tightly integrated with the robust DPS native Android Viewer and strives to deliver a highly engaging service that will delight Samsung Galaxy users in its purchase simplicity and interactive content experience with an optimized viewing environment for interactive digital magazines.” Good e-Reader spoke to Adobe’s Lynly Schambers-Lenox for a demo of what’s new in v31, and how DPS is making it even easier to drive sales. “This is the first time we’ve partnered with a hardware supplier on content. With v31, users can see a preview of content, but that preview and the purchase functionality are now very tightly connected. Publishers can build segments for push notifications and can drive readers to custom markets or URLs, all with the intention of driving engagement.” One of the more exciting enhancements to this newest release is the Folio Showcase, which lets publishers set up a default library of content that they especially want to highlight. There are key visuals in the showcase, along with content samples, and the pricing is “front and center” for consumers to make a content purchasing decision. All of this leads to an increase in sales and user engagement with the material. The new version has already rolled out and is available for preview through Adobe.
Adobe DPS Powers New Samsung Tablet’s Magazine Feature, Papergarden is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Samsung Announces Galaxy Tab S
| Samsung has been releasing so many tablets this year, its hard to keep track of the good, bad and the ugly. The Galaxy PRO, the Galaxy Tab and now the Galaxy Tab S are all vying for your attention. Is there anything compelling about this new one worth writing home about? Bad puns aside, the Galaxy Tab S comes in a 8.4 and 10.5 inch edition. These models have ultra high-resolutions (2560 x 1600) with a Super AMOLED display. This certainly puts the iPad Air on notice, as they only have 2,048 x 1,536 pixels. According to Samsung, the Tab S’s display has a more accurate color range, better contrast, and higher outdoor visibility than an LCD display. Maybe with resolution like this, we may finally start seeing some of the Retina enabled magazines and comics finally make the jump to Android. The Tab S models weigh slightly less than their iPad counterparts, with the Tab S 8.4 coming in at 10 ounces or 294 grams, compared to the Mini Retina’s 331 grams. Meanwhile the Tab 10.5 is a solid 465 grams, or 4 grams less than what the iPad Air weighs. Samsung is touting the fact that these are the lightest and slimmest tablets they have ever made. Underneath the hood is a Exynos 5 Octa, an octa-core mobile CPU that splits duties between a 1.9 GHz quad-core processor and 1.3 GHz quad-core processor. It has a 64 bit architecture, so it should solidly multitask and play any game you can throw at it. It also has 3GB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory and SD Card support for up to 128GB. It is obviously running Android, and the latest version with 4.4 Kitkat. You can shoot some video with the 8-megapixel rear-facing camera (with flash) and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies and video chats. It also has a neat fingerprint sensor, that will allow it to take advantage of all the companies now offering fingerprint unlock functionality. The big rumor right now is that PAYPAL is spearheading a new system to take advantage of this. Samsung has been going into overdrive with making arrangements with content providers. These tablets will be bundled with Kindle for Samsung, Marvel Unlimited, Milk and Paperfold. Other apps such as Group Play, S-Note, S Translator, Samsung Link, Scrapbook, Story Album and Video Editor are pre installed, while Gear Manager, Gear Fit Manager, Samsung Smart Switch, Samsung Level, E-meeting, Kids Mode, Kids Piano, S-Console, Hanshow, Hancell and Hanwrite are available to download. Are these new tablets worth it? Well it is the lightest and thinnest they have ever made, it also has the highest resolution. 3GB of RAM and a super quadcore chip is actually fairly solid. If you have something a few years old and like Android, this may float your boat. The downside is not much content takes advantage of this high resolution on the Android ecosystem. Likely, you will not have a ton of developers porting their content exclusively for this, like they do the iPad Mini with Retina or the iPad Air. Samsung Announces Galaxy Tab S is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Samsung Gives 3 Free Months of Access to Marvel Unlimited
| Marvel and Samsung has signed a multi year agreement that will bundle the Marvel Unlimited subscription based comic book system to all future Phones and tablets. Readers will enjoy three free months of access to Unlimited, which will allow for reading as many comics as you want on a monthly basis. Samsung has been reaching out to companies to help distinguish themselves in the marketplace. The ironed out a similar agreement with Amazon a few months ago that will give one free eBook a month to anyone who has the Kindle for Samsung app installed on their device. The Marvel Unlimited deal goes far beyond just digital comics though. Beginning with the launch of the Galaxy Tab S, Samsung will debut a wealth of exclusive content. Over the next year, customers will have access to early sneak peeks for Marvel movies debuting in 2015 including Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, Classic Marvel One-Shots, and a host of other great content. The partnership between Samsung and Marvel will activate across a wide range of touch-points with exclusive content, custom Marvel-branded Samsung products, event activations and feature film integrations. Samsung Gives 3 Free Months of Access to Marvel Unlimited is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Wiley Acquires SimBioSys, Accelerates Research Tools
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In an statement from earlier today, Wiley announced the acquisition of SimBioSys, a scientific software tool developer that is widely know for facilitating the drug discovery process. This acquisition will pair the proven capabilities of SimBioSys’ research-driven platform with Wiley’s knowledge solutions for researchers and the educational community. "Wiley has deep roots in top quality chemistry publishing with high-profile international chemistry society partnerships and extensive chemical databases, journals, books and references," said Steve Miron, Senior Vice President of Wiley's Global Research business. "By combining our traditional published content and databases with machine learning algorithms, we can support chemists in innovative research as they advance world knowledge." "The acquisition of SimBioSys accelerates the development of Wiley Science Solutions, our integrated suite of workflow tools for researchers," said Dr. Mike Davis, Vice President and Managing Director, Research Innovations "SymBioSys has developed technology that enables the computer to learn organic chemistry. These tools enable chemists working in industry and academia to find new and better ways of synthesizing target compounds, saving them time and money."
Wiley Acquires SimBioSys, Accelerates Research Tools is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Top 10 Android Apps of the Week – June 12 2014
| This week has been massive for new and updated apps hitting the Android scene. Angry Birds finally released Epic, Mobage and Dena also put out some big updates. Today, we are going to look at the 10 top new and updated apps that you should take a serious look at. All of these apps are downloaded in one click from the Good e-Reader App Store, by clicking on the name of the app. If the app has been moved, use search on the site. Angry Birds Epic - Get ready for a bird-tastic FREE RPG adventure filled with "weapons" (whatever they could get ahold of), magic, bad guys and silly hats! Lead your feathery team into battle now – it's going to be EPIC! Lumosity – Train your memory and attention. Used by over 60 million people worldwide, Lumosity is a Personal Training Program that challenges your brain. Soundgarden – The ultimate experience of Soundgarden's 20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition of Superunknown, mixed in DTS Headphone:XTM. This immersive new technology allows you to experience the album in 11.1 surround sound, turning your normal stereo headphones into a panoramic listening experience. FOX Sports GO - With FOX Sports GO, you can watch live sports and great shows from FOX Sports. Depending on your TV provider, FOX Sports, FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2, your regional FOX Sports Network, FOX College Sports and FOX Deportes may be available . No matter where you go, take FOX Sports with you on your Android device. Lebron - LeBron James shares his life on his phone, but he's putting it down to focus on the playoffs. Don't want to miss out? Don't worry, we got you. Orange is the new app – This free app from Netflix lets you be Alex's little spoon, rock a sweet pornstache and show your love for your favorite Litchfield ladies. Just pick a card, customize it with your own message, add a photo, and share it with your dandelions on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, SMS and more. SimplyText SMS Text Messaging – SimplyText is texting, done better. A great replacement app for the stock SMS messaging app for your phone. Break Bricks – Familiar to play, yet hard to master, Break Bricks brings fresh challenges and unanticipated obstacles to breakout players around the world. In this entrancing game of skill and spatial awareness, it is your job to destroy all the bricks by using the walls and the paddle below to ricochet the ball against the bricks and knock down them. Skoobe – the digital library – Enjoy unlimited access to thousands of eBooks. For a small monthly fee you can read as many books as you like. Summoners War: Sky Arena – Come explore a world under battle over the vital resource: Mana Crystals! Summon over 400 different types of monsters to compete for victory in the Sky Arena! Top 10 Android Apps of the Week – June 12 2014 is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Angry Birds Goes EPIC Now Available on Android
| Life is filled with certain truths and inevitability: the nicest thing about the future is that it always starts tomorrow… and at some point, every human being with a smartphone or tablet will become addicted to Angry Birds. Now consider for a moment what would happen if you combine the fun of an RPG adventure game with the bird-tastic awesomeness of the Angry Birds franchise? Sufficed to say, it would be EPIC. We all know these birds can fly, but can they do battle? Armed with hilarious weapons like a frying pan or a “stick thingy with a sponge on top”, you will be charged with leading a heroic flock of feathery familiars (like Red, Chuck, and Bomb) into turn-based combat scenarios across grand worlds (like a fantasy Piggy Island complete with tribal villages, frosty mountains, tropical beaches, and mysterious caves). The more you succeed, the higher your characters level up and the more armor, weapons, and potions become available to defeat King Pig, Wiz Pig, Prince Porky, and more! The game is shockingly free, though you will be subjected to a little paid commercial content from select partners; seems a small price to pay for the quirky and offbeat humor that Angry Birds offers and we all fall so easily in love with. Download Angry Birds Epic! from the Good e-Reader App Store for FREE. Angry Birds Goes EPIC Now Available on Android is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Firefox OS Apps Work on Android
| Many of you will be familiar with the news that Mozilla’s Firefox OS has been designed and released to run on inexpensive smartphones and tablets (with a series of $25 smartphones already announced that will be running the operating system set for sale in India and Indonesia). What you may not be aware of is that the apps for Firefox OS are built using web technologies like HTML5 so they will also run on your Android device using Firefox for Android 29 (or later). This extension of the Firefox Open Web Apps ecosystem translates into being able to manage a web app in the same manner as you would a native app: install/update/uninstall, see apps appear in the App Drawer and the Recent Apps list, and create shortcuts on the home screen. To browse the current catalog of Firefox OS apps, visit the Firefox Marketplace. One of the biggest advantages being marketed to developers is that apps they create will run on so many platforms without extra effort (in theory, apps should also run in any platform that has a web browser). Firefox OS Apps Work on Android is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Microsoft Offers Outlook on Android for Business Accounts
| Android users with business email service through Microsoft Office 365 are in luck –today the company announced a preview version of their Outlook Web App (OWA) for your devices (as long as they are running Android 4.4 KitKat or higher, which may be a problem for many of you with devices that do not support this build). Similar in function to the existing Outlook app that was released for iOS last year, Outlook Web App provides all of the base functionality you need to manage your email, schedule and contacts securely from your smartphone. If you qualify, you will be able to schedule meetings (including the ability to use the free/busy and room finder features), view shared calendars, use your voice to look up contacts or check your schedule, update your contacts’ information –all without using Exchange ActiveSync and all done from the palm of your hand while keeping your business data secure. If you don’t qualify, there is no need to panic –Microsoft indicates that the reason for this pre-release is to “gather feedback, fix bugs, and generally make sure the app is ready for prime time.” They also noted that support for additional devices is already planned and will be added regularly. Currently the Outlook Web App will not work for Outlook.com email accounts (formerly Hotmail) or Microsoft Office 365 Personal and Home Premium services, but but all expectations are that it will be extended to those services soon. Microsoft Offers Outlook on Android for Business Accounts is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Hachette Derives 60% of eBook Revenue from Amazon
| Amazon and Hachette are locked in a contract battle that may decide the future of the publishing industry. Amazon wants lower prices on print and digital titles so it can increase its profit margins, Hachette is obviously resistant to the entire concept. Amazon has disabled pre-orders of all Hachette titles and has implemented a five week shipping delay on a huge catalog of print books. A recently leaked investor slideshow sheds light on how reliant Hachette is on Amazon for their worldwide eBook sales. Amazon currently represents 60% of all Hachette eBook sales in the US, followed by B&N (18%) and Apple (12%). In the United Kingdom 78% of all digital sales derive from Amazon, followed by Apple (12%) and Kobo (5%). Worldwide Hachette is currently the 3rd largest publisher in terms of eBook sales. 50% of their revenue in the US stems from trade and 25% from their education unit and another 25% from the profits of distribution. In the UK they derive 87% of their income from fiction and nonfiction sales. In 2013 over 16,452 books were published and 84 eBooks were showcased on the New York Times Bestseller List. Hachette acknowledges a slowdown in their growth in the US and stabilization in the critical UK market. This is primary due to authors self-publishing via Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, Barnes and Noble Nook Press, and Archway Publishing. Authors simply aren’t relying on major publishers like they used to, and this factor is making Hachette hit the glass ceiling. When it comes to the future of digital book sales, Hachette is quite bullish. Ebooks share of total sales in the USA should continue to increase but at a lower pace to stabilize between 25-35% by 2017. UK market will follow the US market trend with ebook share reaching 35% of 2017 total All of these statistics from the leaked investors document showcase how reliant Hachette is on their digital sales in the US and UK by Amazon. This is prompting them to establish new relationships with Books A Million and other digital book stores, to offset the losses. Hachette Derives 60% of eBook Revenue from Amazon is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Clean Up Messy Formatting with a Text Editor
Copying and pasting text can sometimes bring along unwanted formatting. Learn an easy trick to prevent this! |